Incorpor



March 10, 1964 w. B. CRANE EI'AL GLOVE FORMING DEVICE 1mm; GLOVEPRINTING MEANS INCORPORATED THEREIN Filed Nov. 29, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet l3,124,066 ING March 10, 1964 w. B. CRANE EFAL GLOVE FORMING DEVICEHAVING GLOVE PRINT MEANS INCORPORATED THEREIN Filed Nov. 29, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet 2 an NQN INVENTORS WILLIAM B. CRANE 6 By RU88LL c. FARR/SHMf /MW 4T7'06NEV March 1 0, 1964 w. B. CRANE lrrAI 3,124,066 GLOVEFORMING DEVICE HAVING GLOVE PRINTING MEANS INCORPORATED THEREIN 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 29, 1961 ZNVENTORS' WILLIAM B. CRANE BYIPUSSfiLL C. FARR/SH JTI'OR/VEY March 10, 1964 w. B. CRANE EIAL3,124,066

GLOVE FORMING DEVICE HAVING GLOVE PRINTING MEANS INCORPORATED THEREINFiled Nov. 29. 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR3 WILL/AM a CRANE a BY81166351.. (.PARRLSH zdyfvilM JTTORNEV United States Patent Ofiice3,124,066 Patented Mar. 1%, 1964 s 124 066 Grove rnarvimo hEvicE nAviNeGrove rnm'rmn MEANS rncoaronarnn THERE- The present invention relates toa glove forming device having glove printing means incorporated therein,and more particularly to a glove forming device having forms on whichgloves are formed and having printing means for printing the gloveswhile on the forms.

In the present invention the printing means comprises a printingmechanism mounted adjacent a glove form of a glove forming device andincludes a printing bed formed in the surface of the form, with theprinting mechanism operable against the printing bed of the form when aglove is on the form, to print indicia on the portion of the glove thatcovers the printing bed, without having to remove the glove from theform to accomplish the printing operation. Thus, the present inventionsubstantially reduces the time, handling and skill normally necessaryfor separate forming and printing operations. As a matter of fact, it ispossible to accomplish the printing simultaneously with the actualforming operation of the device so that no additional time or handlingis necessary.

in addition, the present invention includes sensing means, which detectthe presence or absence of a glove on the form, and means forautomatically operating the printing mechanism in response to thesensing means detection so that the printing operation is not onlyautomatic but is automatically controlled to print only when a properglove is on the form. This substantially eliminates the need for anyskill or even attention by the operator, further increasing theefficiency and reducing the cost of the printing operation.

The glove sensing means are particularly significant when bothright-hand and left-hand gloves are being processed on the same formingdevice. In this case it may be desired to print only particular surfacesof particular types of gloves. This can be accomplished in the presentinvention by including in the sensing means glove-type sensing meansthat detect the presence of one type of glove and no-glove sensing meansthat detect the absence of any glove on the form. By combining thedetections of these sensing means and selecting desired conditions theprinting mechanism can be automatically controlled to print only aselected type of glove. Printing mechanisms may be provided on bothsides of the form, in which case the detections from the sensing meanscan be selected in a desired combination to operate the printingmechanism for printing of either or both opposite surfaces of either orboth types of gloves.

The present invention is applicable to various types of glove formingdevices. One of the important adaptations of the present invention is inan automatic glove turning and forming machine of the type having setsof turning tubes that carry wrong-side-out gloves to a turning stationat which the gloves are turned from the turning tubes onto glove formson which the gloves are formed and are carried through stations to astation at which the gloves are removed from the forms. Machines of thistype are manufactured and sold by Singer-Cobble, Inc., of RiversideDrive, Chattanooga, Tennessee. In this adaptation of the presentinvention the printing mechanism or mechanisms of the printing means aremounted at a glove forming station at which the glove from dwells with aglove thereon. The printing mechanism is operable against a printing bedformed in the glove form to print the surface of a glove carried on theform. The printing mechanism is automatically operated in response tosensing means mounted at one of the stations of the turning tubes. Thesensing means include no-glove sensing means that detect the absence ofany glove on the tubes at the station and glove-type sensing means inthe path of a glove thumb tube to detect the absence of a glove of thetype that would have its thumb on the tube. The detections obtained fromthe sensing means are used to control the automatic operation of theprinting mechanisms to render the printing mechanisms inoperative whenthe sensing means detects no glove present and to operate the printingmechanisms when a glove of a particular type is detected by the sensingmeans. Selectively settable means are provided to control operation ofthe printing mechanisms to cause the printing mechanisms to print gloveswhen selected detections are given by the sensing means for printing ofeither one or both sides of one or both types of gloves.

As the sensing means are located at a station of the turning tubes andthe printing mechanisms are located at a station of the glove forms,detection retaining means are provided to retain the detection from thesensing means for a period equivalent to the time necessary for a gloveto progress from the sensing station to the printing station, at whichtime the retained detections are applied to the operating means of theprinting mechanisms to operate the printing mechanisms in accordancewith the previously obtained detections. The detection retaining meansmay be in the form of a traveling member, such as a rotating disc, thatcarries displaceable elements. These displaceable elements are displacedby displacing means actuated by the sensing means, and are carried bythe traveling member from the displacing means to pick-up means spacedfrom the displacing means distances equivalent to the distance thedisplaceable elements move during, the time a glove advances from thesensing station to the printing station. The pick-up means are connectedto the operating means for the printing mechanisms to control operationof the printing mechanisms in accordance with the corresponding detaineddetections of the sensing means selected for particular printingcombinations.

In this manner gloves on an automatic glove turning and forming machineare printed while the gloves remain on a glove form at one of the normalstations of the machine. Not only does this eliminate the separate gloveprinting operation, but it also substantially eliminates any attentionrequired of the operator and the need for any skill by the operator inhandling the printing operation.

Other and further features and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an automatic glove turning andforming machine in which is incorporated means for printing indicia onthe gloves formed thereon in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the left side of the automaticglove turning and forming machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the automatic glove turning and formingmachine of FIG. 1 with the top cover removed to expose the interiorelements;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the printing side of one of theprinting mechanisms of the machine of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, as viewed alongline 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views taken along lines 5-5 and6-6, respectively, of FIG. 3 and illustrating the detection retainingmeans of the printing means illustrated in the preceding figures;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of one of the glove forms of themachine of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuit of Q) theillustrated embodiment of the printing means of the present invention.

For purposes of illustration, the printing means of the presentinvention is shown in the drawings and described below as incorporatedin a commercial type of glove turning and forming machine, which has notheretofore included any printing means. The particular machine1llustrated is manufactured and sold by Singer-Cobble, Inc, of RiversideDrive, Chattanooga, Tennessee. This machine includes four sets ofturning tubes 22 and four glove forms 24. Each set of turning tubes 22includes four finger tubes 26 arranged in a row with a right-hand thumbtube 28 on one side of the row and a left-hand thumb tube 30 on theopposite side of the row. These four sets of turning tubes 22 arearranged radially about a hub 32 mounted on the end of a turning tubeshaft 34 that is rotatably mounted in bearings 36 in a machine housing38, and which extends from the machine housing to support rotatably thesets of turning tubes 22 outwardly of the housing 33.

The four glove forms 24 are similarly mounted radially about a hub 40that is mounted on the end of a glove form shaft 42 that is rotatablymounted in bearings 44 in the machine housing 38 and extends therefromto support the glove form 24 for rotation on the outside of the machinehousing 38. Each glove form 24 has four finger portions 46 aligned in arow and extending from a body portion 48 that has a front face 50 and aback face 52.

The sets of turning tubes 22 and the glove forms 24 rotate in oppositedirections, with the tubes rotating in a counterclockwise direction withreference to FIG. 1 and the forms rotating in a clockwise direction withreference to FIG. 1. The tubes 22 and forms 24 are indexed through fourstations during each revolution with a predetermined dwell at eachstation. The sets of tubes 22 advance from an upright glove mountingstation 54 to an idle station 56, to a tip punching station 58 at whichrods 60 aligned with the tubes 26, 28 and 30 are reciprocated into theends of the tubes to force the tips of the fingers and thumbs of a gloveon the form into the ends of the tubes to facilitate subsequent turning,and to a turning station 62 at which gloves are transferred from thetubes onto an aligned glove form 24 by means (not shown) of the typedisclosed in United States Patent No. 2,286,059, for example.

The glove forms 24 are heated by electrical heating coils 25 to heat thegloves and facilitate the forming of the gloves to the shape of theforms. The forms 24 are intermittently advanced in the same manner asthe turning tubes 22 through four stations during each revolution. Fromthe turning station 62 the forms 24 advance to an upright formingstation 64 at which the glove remains on the heated form. This stationmay include a set of prongs (not shown) acting on the glove crotches topull the gloves down onto the form. Pull-down devices of this type aredisclosed and claimed in U.S. Patent No. 3,010,- 623, issued November28, 1961, U.S. Patent No. 3,010, 624, issued November 28, 1961, U.S.Patent No. 3,010, 622, issued November 28, 1961, and pending U.S. patentapplication Serial No. 40,483, now abandoned, filed July 1, 1960, as adivision of above U.S. Patent No. 3,010,623. From the upright formingstation 64 the glove forms 24 advance to a horizontal forming station66, and finally to a stripping station 68 at which the gloves arestripped from the forms by suitable means (not shown), an ex ample ofwhich is disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,286,059, and carriedfrom the machine for subsequent processing and packaging.

The sets of turning tubes 22 and glove forms 24 are in dexed fromstation to station by means of an electric motor 70 having its driveshaft 72 connected by a pulley 74 to a connecting shaft '76. The ends ofthe connecting shaft 76 are connected to speed reducers 78, which areconnected through Geneva drive motions 80 to the turning tube shaft 34and the glove form shaft 42 to intermittently drive the shafts and theassociated sets of tubes 22 and glove forms 24 through their stations.

The machine described up to this point is the conventional automaticglove turning and forming machine. The incorporation of the printingmeans of the present invention in this machine will now be described.

The illustrated embodiment of the printing means of the presentinvention comprises printing beds formed in the front and back faces 50and 52 of the glove forms 24 (see P16. 7), a pair of printing mechanisms82, 84 mounted on opposite sides of the glove forms 24 at the formingstation 64, which is also the printing station, sensing means 86 at thetip punching station 58 of the turning tubes 22 for detecting the typeof glove on the tubes, detection retaining means 88 mounted within themachine housing 38 and capable of receiving detections from the sensingmeans 86 and retaining the detections during the time a glove advancesfrom the punching or sensing station 58 to the printing station 64, andan electrical control circuit (FIG. 8) for controlling operation of theprinting mechanisms 82, 84 in response to the detections retained by thedetection retaining means 88.

The printing beds 80 are smooth fiat surfaces formed on the front faces50 and back faces 52 of the glove forms 24 in the areas against whichthe printing plates 90 of the printing mechanisms 82, 84 are directedupon operation of the printing mechanisms to print the correspondingsurface or surfaces of a glove carried on the form 24.

The printing mechanisms 82, 84 in the embodiment illustrated arestandard Model 70AB Markem Printers manufactured and sold by MarkemMachine Company of 152 Congress Street, Keene, NH. One printingmechanism 82 is mounted in front of the glove forms 24 on a supportingplatform 92 extending from the machine housing 38. The other printingmechanism 84 is mounted in back of the forms 24 and on the machinehousing 38. The printing plates 90 extend from the bodies 94 of theprinting mechanisms 82, 84 and have ink or other printing materialapplied thereto by rollers 96 that pick up printing material from asupply pad 98 and transfer the material by rolling over the printingplates 90 when the plates are in a retracted position.

The printing plates 90 are advanced and retracted by air motors 100 thatdrive rods 102 having the printing plates 90 attached to their outerends. The air motors 100 are driven by an air system 104 having conduits106 leading to the air motors 100 from a source of air pressure (notshown) through filter, regulator and lubricator units 108 that conditionthe compressed air and regulate the pressure for speed control. The airmotors 100 are reversible to advance and retract the printing plates 90.The control of the air motors 100 is accomplished by the electricalcircuit, which includes limit switches 110 that are actuated by arms 112extending from the motor rods 102 when the printing plates are fullyadvanced. These lrmrtswitches 110 are arranged in the electrical controlcircuit to reverse the air motors 100 and cause the printing plates 90to return to retracted positions.

' The sensing means 86, located at the punching or sensing station 58,comprise a no-glove sensing switch 114 and a glove-type sensing switch116. These switches are spring leaf switches that extend from a bracketmounting 118 and have electrical contacts 120 and 122 respectively attheir outer ends. These switches 114 and 116 are connected in theelectrical control circuit with the machine housing 38 acting as aground for the circuit so that when the contacts 120, 122 of theswitches 114, 1116 contact the tubes 22 the circuit will close andcurrent will flow to the tubes and through the housing 38 to the ground.

The no-glove sensing switch 114 is positioned so that its contact 114will engage one of the finger tubes 26 of the set of tubes 22 at thesensing station 58. When no glove of any type is on the sets of tubes 22the no-glove sensing switch 114- will make contact with the finger tube26 to close the circuit, and thereby detect the absence of any glove onthe tubes 22. When a glove of any type is on the sets of tubes 22 theglove material will insulate the contact 120 from the finger tube 26 andthe circuit will not be closed, indicating the presence of a glove onthe sets of tubes 22.

The glove-type sensing switch 116 is arranged with its contact 122positioned to contact a right-hand thumb tube 23. As the glove iswrong-side-out when on the tubes 22 the right-hand thumb tube 28 is onthe front. When a right-hand glove is carried by the sets of tubes 22the thumb insulates the glove-type switch contact 122 from the tube 28,preventing the circuit from closing and thereby detecting the presenceof a right-hand glove on the tubes. When a left-hand glove or no gloveis on the set of tubes 22 there will be no glove thumb on the righthandthumb tube 23 and the glove-type sensing switch contact 122 will contactthe tube 28, closing the circuit through the machine housing 38 to theground, thereby detecting the absence of a left-hand glove from thetubes.

The no-glove sensing switch 114 and the glove-type sensing switch 116are electrically connected to the detection retaining means 88 thatreceives the detections from the switches and retains the detections fora period equivalent to the period that a glove would advance from thesensing station 58 through the turning station 62 and to the printingstation 64.

The detection retaining means 83 comprises a disc or memory wheel 124that carries two sets of displaceable elements or plungers 126, 128 andis mounted for rotation on a memory wheel shaft 130 mounted in bearings132 in the machine housing 38. The shaft 135) is driven through asprocket 134 by a chain 136 from a sprocket 138 mounted on the gloveform shaft 42 for synchronous rotation of the memory wheel 124 with theglove forms 24, with the same intermittent rotation and at the same rateof rotation.

The plungers 126, 128 are slidably positioned in holes 140 of the memorywheel 124 and are arranged in a circle that is concentric with thememory wheel shaft 130. In the embodiment illustrated there are fourno-glove plungers 126 and four glove-type plungers 128 arranged inalternation.

A no-glove electric air motor 142 is mounted in the machine housing 38with an operating rod 144 aligned with a no-glove plunger 126 when thememory Wheel 124 is in a dwell position. The no-glove air motor 142 isconnected to the compressed air conduit 106 mentioned above in regard tothe printing mechanism air motors 100, is controlled by the no-glovesensing switch 114 so that when contact 120 of the switch 114 contactsthe finger tube 26 to close the circuit the air motor 142 will operateto advance the rod 144 against the no-glove plunger and slide theplunger from a rearward position to a forward position. When a glove ofany type is on the set of tubes 22 the glove will insulate the contact120 of the 110-glove sensing switch 114 so that the no-glove air motor142 will not be energized and will not operate the rod 144. Thus theno-glove plunger 126 will remain in its rear position.

Similarly, a glove-type electric air motor 146 is mounted in the housing38 with an operating rod 148 aligned with a glove-type plunger 128 whenthe memory wheel 124 is in a dwell position. The glove-.ype air motor146 is also connected to the above mentioned compressed air conduit 106,and is controlled by the glove-type sensing switch 116 for actuation ofthe operating rod 148 to move the glove-type plunger 128 from a rearwardto a forward position when no right-hand glove is on the tubes 22 andthe contact 122 of the glove-type sensing switch 116 is in contact withthe right-hand thumb tube 28. When a right-hand glove is on the set oftubes 22 and the glove thumb insulates the contact 122 of the glove-typesensing switch 116, the glove-type air motor 146 is not actuated and theglove-type plunger 128 remains in its rear position.

A pair of no-glove pickup or memory switches 150, 152 are mounted forcontacting the no-glove plungers 126 180 from the no-glove air motor142. This spacing of 180 is equivalent to the period during which aglove would advance from the sensing station 58 through the turningstation 62 to the printing station 64.

The rear switch 156 of the pair of no-glove memory switches ispositioned to contact the rear flange 154 of the no-glove plungers 126when the plungers are in their rear position, which is the positionindicating that a glove is on the form at the printing station. Thisrear no-glove switch is connected in the electrical circuit so that whenit contacts the rear flange 154 of the plunger 126 operation of theprinting mechanisms 82, 84 will not be interrupted by this switch 150.

The front no-glove memory switch 152 is positioned to contact the frontflange 156 of a no-glove plunger 126 when the plunger has been displacedto its forward position by operation of the 110-glove air motor 142 toindi cate the absence of a glove on the form. This switch 152 isnormally closed to permit operation of the printing mechanisms 32, $4and is opened when contacting the flange 156 of the plunger 126 torender the printing mechanisms 82, 84 inoperative when no glove is onthe form.

Similarly, a pair of glove-type pickup means or memory switches 158, 160are positioned 180 from the glovetype air motor 146. The rear switch 158of this pair of glove-type memory switches is positioned for contactwith the rear flange 162 of the glove-type plungers 128 when theplungers are in their rear position corresponding to a detection by theglove-type switch 116 of the presence of a right-hand glove on thetubes. This rear glove-type memory switch 158 is connected in theelectrical circuit with selectively settable means to operate or notoperate the rear printing mechanism 84 when a right-hand glove isdetected.

The front glove-type memory switch 166 is positioned to contact thefront flange 164 of the glove-type plungers 128 when the plungers are intheir forward position indicating the absence of a right-hand glove onthe forms. This front switch 166 is also connected in the electricalcircuit with selectively settable means to operate or not operate thefront printing mechanism 82 when the absence of a right-hand glove isdetected. The absence of a right-hand glove combined with the indicationby the front no-glove switch 152, which remains in its normally closedposition when a glove is detected on the form, that a glove is on theform, indicates that a left-hand glove is on the form. This indicationis supplied the electrical circuit to operate or not operate one or bothof the printing mechanisms 82, 84 in accordance with the setting of theselectively settable means.

The plungers 126, 128 are releasably retained in their rear and forwardpositions by means of spring mounted detents 166 mounted in the memorywheel 124 and extending radially into engagement in either a forwardgroove 168 or a rear groove 170 in the plungers 126, 128.

After the plungers 126, 128 advance past the memory switches 15!), 152and 158, 169 the forwardly positioned plungers are returned to theirinitial rear position for a repetition of the cycle by means of a cambracket 172 having a cam surface 174 inclined in the direction ofmovement of the plungers toward the memory wheel 124 so that the camsurface 174 will force the forwardly positioned plungers to theirinitial rear positions.

The electrical control circuit that includes the selectively settablemeans and the above described switches, and operates the printingmechanisms 32, 84 in response to selected conditions is illustrateddiagrammatically in FIG. 8 of the drawings. This electrical controlcircuit is comprised of three component circuits, a plunger operatingcircuit 176, a prove relay and sensing circuit 178, and a printingcontrol circuit 180.

The circuits are powered by a 110 volt, 60 cycle main power line thatfeeds into a transformer 152 mounted on the inside wall of the machinehousing 38. The plunger operating circuit 176 is connected to theprimary side of the transformer 182. The prove relay and sensing circuit178 taps 24 volts from the secondary winding of the transformer 182. Theprinting control circuit 181) taps 8 volts from the secondary winding ofthe transformer 182. The machine housing 38 is used as a leg of both theprove relay and sensing circuit 178 and the printing control circuit 189by one side of the transformer secondary winding being connected to themachine housing 38 and all other control devices of the prove relay andsensing circuit 178 and printing control circuit 131) having one legalso connected to the machine housing 38.

The prove relay and sensing circuit 178 includes a prove relay 184mounted on the back of the machine housing 38 that closes a switch 186in a leg 188 of the machine starter coil when the proper voltage isbeing received from the transformer 182. Also in this leg 1813 of themachine starter coil is a pressure switch 19% mounted on the back of thehousing 38 that is connected in the air pressure conduit 1% and remainsclosed when the proper air pressure is maintained in the conduit 1%.When either the prove relay switch 136 is open due to improper voltageor the pressure switch 1% is open due to improper air pressure thecircuit through the leg 133 of the machine starter coil will be open andthe machine will not operate.

Also included in the prove relay and sensing circuit 178 independentlyof the prove relay 134 are the no-glove sensing switch 114 and theglove-type sensing switch 116 arranged in parallel with a correspondingno-glove relay coil 192 and a glove-type relay coil 194 in series withthe respective switches. These relay coils 192 and 194 are mounted onthe back of the machine housing 38. The lines from these switches areconnected to the machine housing 38 so that when either one of theswitches 114, 116 is closed current will flow through the closed switchand associated relay coil 192, 194 to the housing 38, which carries thecurrent to the ground. These relay coils 122, 194 operate micro-switchesin the plunger operating circuit 176.

The plunger operating circuit 176 includes a no-glove air motoroperating coil 1% and a glove-type air motor operating coil 198 arrangedin parallel, with the no-glove relay coil 192 controlling a normallyopen switch 200 in series with the no-glove air motor operating coil196, and the glove-type relay coil 194 operating a normally closedswitch 202 that is in series with the glove-type air motor operatingcoil 198.

A master switch 264, mounted on the outside of the housing 38, also islocated in series with the glove-type air motor operating coil 198 sothat the coil will not he energized through the normally closed switch2%2 when the machine is inactive and the master switch 264 is open.

To control the time during which current will flow through the plungeroperating circuit 176 a cam operated plunger circuit limit switch 2% islocated in the circuit in advance of the parallel arrangement of the airmotor operating coils 196, 193. This limit switch 206 is normally openand is closed for only a limited period of time during each dwell periodof the turning tube and glove form. This is accomplished, as seen inFIG. 3, by mounting the plunger limit switch 2196 adjacent an eccentriccam 298 mounted on a rotating shaft 219 that is driven by the speedreducer 78 for the turning tubes 22 at a speed four times the rotationalspeed of the turning tubes. Thus the plunger limit switch cam 2% makesone revolution during each quarter revolution of the tubes, or, in otherwords, one revolution for each indexing and dwell period of the tubesand forms. Thus the plunger limit switch cam 2% contacts and closes theplunger limit switch 2% once during each dwell period of the forms toenergize the plunger operating circuit 176 for a limited period. Whenthe circuit is energized the switches 2%, 292 operated by the nogloverelay coil 192 and the glove-type relay coil 194 respectively willcontrol operation of the no-glove air motor 142 and glove-type air motor146 respectively.

Thus when no glove is on the turning tubes 22 the noglove sensing switch114 will make contact with the tubes thereby energizing the no-gloverelay coil 192 closing the switch 291 and energizing the no-glove airmotor operating coil 196 when the limit switch 236 is closed to operatethe no-glove air motor 142, which in turn slides the noglove plunger 126to its forward position. When a glove of any type is on the tubes theno-glove sensing switch 114 is insulated from the tubes so that theno-glove relay coil 192 is not energized, the switch 2% is not closed,the no-glove air motor operating coil 196 is not energized and theno-glove plunger 126 remains in its rearward position to indicate thepresence of a glove on the tubes.

Similarly, when a left-hand glove is on the tubes the glove-type sensingswitch 116 will make contact with the right-hand thumb tube 28, closingthe circuit to energize the glove-type relay coil 194, which opens thenormally closed corresponding switch 202 to de-energize the glovetypeair motor operating coil 198 so that the glove-type air motor 146 willnot move the glove-type plunger from its rearward position, thus leavingthe plunger 128 in a position to indicate the absence of a right-handglove.

When a right-hand glove is on the tubes 22 the glovetype sensing switch116 will be insulated from the righthand thumb tube 28 leaving thecircuit open without energizing the glove-type relay coil 194 so thatthe normally closed corresponding switch 262 remains closed, energizingthe glove-type air motor operating coil to operate the glove-type airmotor 146 and slide the glove-type plunger 128 to its forward positionto indicate the presence of a right-hand glove.

The printing control circuit 180 includes the no-glove memory switches150, 152 and the glove-type memory switches 158, arranged to controloperation of front printing mechanism operating coil 214 and rearprinting mechanism operating coil 212. This circuit may also include anextend coil 216 and a retract coil 218 for a pull down device of thetype disclosed and claimed in the above referred to US. patents.

One 'line of the printing control circuit 181) leads from thetransformer 182 through a printing limit switch 220 that is normallyopen and is closed by a cam 22 mounted on the previously mentioned camshaft 210 to close the limit switch 229 for a limited duration duringeach dwell period of the turning tubes and forms. The line then passesthrough a master switch 224 that is a part of the master switch 264 ofthe plunger operating circuit 176. This master switch 224 is closed andremains closed during the operation of the machine. The line thenincludes the front no-glove memory switch 152 that remains close whenthe no-glove plunger 126 positioned at the switch and corresponding withthe condition of the glove form at the printing station 64 is in itsrearward position indicating that a glove is on the form.

The line then divides into parallel lines, one of which includes therear glove-type memory switch 158, which is a two position switch withone position corresponding to the detection of the presence of aright-hand glove on the form and the other position corresponding to thedetection of the absence of a right-hand glove on the form. Alsoassociated with the rear glove-type memory switch 158 is a rear toggleswitch 230' that is selectively settable to contact either one or bothof the rear glove-type memory switch positions to energize the rearprinting mechanism 84 when the selected glove is on the form. Beyond therear toggle switch 230 is a rear printing mechanism toggle switch 232that is mounted on the machine housing 38 adjacent the rear printingmechanism 84 and is manually controlled to de-energize the printingmechanism, if desired. From the switch 232 the line leads to a rearprinting mechanism operating coil 212 that act-uates the air motor 100of the rear printing mechanism 84.

The other parallel line leading from the front no-glove memory switch152 is identical to the previously described parallel line, having atwo-position front glove-type memory switch 160, a front toggle switch226 selectively settable to energize the line when a selected glove ison the form, a front printing mechanism toggle switch 228 mounted on thesupporting platform 92 of the machine housing 38 adjacent the frontprinting mechanism 82, and a front printing mechanism operating coil214.

The printing control circuit 180 includes a rear printing mechanismretract coil 236 connected to the transformer 182 through the previouslydescribed limit switch 119 which closes when the printing plate 9% ofthe rear printing mechanism '84 reaches the end of its printing stroke,to energize the retract coil 236 which causes the printing plate toretract to its original position.

Similarly, a front printing mechanism retract coil 238 is connected tothe transformer 182 through a limit switch 110 that closes when theprinting plate 90 of the front printing mechanism 82 reaches the end ofits printing stroke, to thereby retract the printing plate 90 to itsoriginal position.

When the automatic glove turning and forming machine includes a pulldown device, such as those disclosed and claimed in the previouslymentioned U.S. patents, the printing control circuit 180 can include theline for energizing a pull down air motor. This line can lead from theprinting limit switch 220 through the front no-glove memory switch 152,that is closed only when a glove is on the form, to a pull down deviceenergizing coil 216 which is energized to extend the pull down devicewhen the printing limit switch 220 and front no-glove memory switch 152are closed. The pull down device is retracted by a pull down deviceretracting coil 218 that is connected to the transformer 182 through thepull down limit switch 244 that is closed by a cam 246 mounted on theabove mentioned cam shaft 210 for operation in the same manner as thepreviously mentioned plunger circuit limit switch 266 and printing limitswitch 220. The pull down limit switch cam 246 is timed behind theplunger circuit limit switch cam 20-8 so that the pull down retractingcoil 242 is energized after the pull down energizing coil 24 0.

The printing control circuit 180 is completed by connection of all ofthe coils 212, 214, 216, 21-8, 23 6 and 238, to the machine housing 38,which serves as a ground.

The automatic operat on of the present invention when incorporated in anautomatic glove turning and forming machine is apparent from the abovedescription. Thus when the no-iglove sensing switch 114 detects theabsence of any glove on the set of tubes 22 at the sensing station 58 itwill transmit this detection to the detection retaining means 88, whichretains detection for a time equivalent to the time it takes for a gloveto advance from the sensing station 58 to the printing station 64, atwhich time the detection of the absence of any glove will operatethrough the electrical circuit to render the printing mechanisms 82, '84inoperative.

When a glove is on the set of tubes 22 at the sensing station 58 theno-glove sensing switch 114 will be insulated by the glove and theglove-type sensing switch 116 will either make contact with the righthand thumb tube 28, if a left hand glove is on the set of tubes 22, orwill be insulated by the thumb of a right hand glove. This insulation orcontact by the glove-type sensing switch 116 is transmitted to thedetection retaining means 88, which retains the detection until theglove has reached the printing station =64, at which time the glove-typememory switches 158, 160 will pick up the detection and through thetoggle switches 226 and 230 will operate the printing mechanisms 82, 84to print the gloves on either side as desired. The toggle switches 226and 230 are mounted It) on the outer side of the machine housing 38 andare selectively settable to control printing in any desired combinationof backs and palms of right or left hand gloves, including printing ofboth surfaces of both types of gloves.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes ofillustration only and is not intended to be limited by this descriptionor otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a glove forming device of the type having a glove form on whichgloves are placed for forming, means for printing indicia on the gloveswhile the gloves are on the form, said printing means comprising aprinting bed formed in the surface of said form, a printing mechanismadjacent said form and having a retractable printing plate movabletoward said form and against said printing bed for printing of thesurface of a glove on the form, means for automatically operating saidprinting mechanism to move said plate against said bed and glove sensingmeans for controlling said printing means.

2. In a glove forming device of the type having a glove form on whichboth right-hand type and left-hand type gloves are placed for forming,means for printing indicia on the gloves while the gloves are on theform, said printing means comprising a printing bed formed in thesurface of said form, a printing mechanism adjacent said form and havinga retractable printing plate movable toward said form and against saidprinting bed for printing of the surface of a glove on the form, sensingmeans engageable with a glove thumb of one of said types of gloves forautomatically operating said printing mechanism to move said plateagainst said bed in response to the indication of a glove by saidsensing means to print only gloves of said one of said types.

3. In a glove forming device of the type having a glove form on whichboth right-hand type and left-hand type gloves are placed for forming,means for printing indicia on the gloves while the gloves are on theform, said printing means comprising a printing bed formed in thesurface of said form, a printing mechanism adjacent said form and havinga retractable printing plate movable toward said form and against saidprinting bed for printing of the surface of a glove on the form,no-glove sensing means engageable with gloves of either of said typesfor indicating the absence of any glove, glove-type sensing meansengageable with a glove thumb of one of said types of gloves forindicating the presence of said one of said types of gloves, saidglove-type sensing means being adjustable to indicate either the absenceor the presence of a glove of said one of said types, means forautomatically operating said printing mechanism to move said plateagainst said bed, said operating means being responsive to said no-glovesensing means to be inoperative when no glove is indicated by saidno-glove sensingmeans and being responsive to said glove-type sensingmeans to be inoperative when the selected indication is given by saidglove-type sensing means.

4. In a glove forming device of the type having a glove form withopposed faces and on which both right-hand type and left-hand typegloves are placed for forming with palm and back portions of the glovesbeing positioned over said opposed faces, means for printing indicia onthe gloves while the gloves are on the form, said printing meanscomprising printing beds formed in said opposed faces, a pair ofprinting mechanisms adjacent said opposed faces and having retractableprinting plates movable toward said form and against said printing bedsfor printing of the palm and back portions of the gloves while on theform, no-glove sensing means engageable with gloves of either of saidtypes for indicating the absence of any glove, glove-type sensing meansengageable with a glove thumb of one of said types of gloves forindicating the presence of said one of said types of gloves, means forautomatically operating said printing mechanisms to move said platesagainst said beds and being inoperative in response to the indication ofthe absence of a glove by said no-glove sensing means, selectivelysettable means for rendering said printing mechanisms inoperative, saidselectively settable means being settable to render either none, one orboth printing mechanisms inoperative in response to a selectedindication by said glove-type sensing means of either the presence orabsence of a glove of said one of said types.

5. In a multi-station glove turning and forming machine of the typehaving sets of turning tubes with righthand thumb tubes and left-handthumb tubes for carrying right-hand type and left-hand type gloves andglove forms arranged with relation to said sets of tubes for turninggloves at a turning station from the tubes onto the forms with said setsof tubes and said forms being advanced sequentially from station tostation for processing of the gloves at said stations, a printingstation for said glove forms having a printing mechanism thereat forprinting indicia on the gloves while on the forms, said forms havingprinting beds in the surfaces thereof, said printing mechanism having aretractable printing plate movable toward the forms and against saidprinting beds, a glove sensing station for said sets of turning tubes inadvance of said turning station, glove sensing means at said sensingstation engageable with one of said thumb tubes of the sets of tubes todetect the presence and absence of a glove of one of said types on thetubes, said sensing means retaining the detection for a periodequivalent to the time for a glove to move from the sensing station tothe printing station, means for selecting the detection of either thepresence of said one type of glove or the absence of said one type ofglove, and means for automatically operating said printing mechanism,said operating means being responsive to the retained detection selectedby said selecting means to be inoperative when a form timed with theselected retained detection is at the printing station.

6. In a multi-station glove turning and forming machine of the typehaving sets of turning tubes with righthand thumb tubes and left-handthumb tubes for carrying right-hand type and left-hand type gloves, andglove forms arranged with relation to said sets of tubes for turninggloves at a turning station from the tubes onto the forms with said setsof tubes and said forms being advanced sequentially from station tostation for processing of the gloves at said stations, a printingstation for said glove forms having a printing mechanism thereat forprinting indicia on the gloves while on the forms, said forms havingprinting beds in the surfaces thereof, said printing mechanism having aretractable printing plate movable toward the forms and against saidprinting beds, a glove sensing station for said sets of turning tubes inadvance of said turning station, glove sensing means at said sensingstation engageable with the tubes to detect the absence of any glove onthe tubes, and to detect the presence of a glove of one of said types orthe absence of a glove of said one of said types, said sensing meansretaining said detections for a period equivalent to the time for aglove to move from the sensing station to the printing station,selectively settable means for selecting either the retained detectionof a glove of said one of said types or the absence of a glove of saidone of said types, and means for automatically operating said printingmechanism, said operating means being responsive to the retaineddetection of the absence of any glove to be inoperative when a form isat the printing station with no glove thereon and being responsive tothe selectively settable means, said selectively settable means beingsettable to render said printing mechanism inoperative in response tothe selected retained detection or not to render the printing mechanisminoperative in response to any selected detection.

7. The multi-station glove forming device according to claim 6 andcharacterized further in that said forms have opposed surfaces withprinting beds formed in said surfaces, two printing mechanisms areprovided, one adja cent each opposed surface, with printing platesmovable against said printing beds, and said selectively settable meansare settable to render either none, one or both printing mechanismsinoperative in response to a selected retained detection.

8. In a multi-station glove forming device wherein gloves are moved fromstation to station for processing, the device having a printing stationat which a printing mechanism is operated to print indicia on thegloves, and having a sensing station in advance of said printing stationand at which sensing means detect the presence or absence of gloves forsubsequent control of the operation of the printing mechanism inresponse to the detection, means for retaining the detection of thesensing means for a period equivalent to the time for a glove to advancefrom the sensing station to the printing station, said retaining meanscomprising a rotating member, means for moving said rotating member inrelation to the advancement of gloves from station to station,displaceable elements carried by said rotating member and movable withrespect thereto, means for displacing said displaceable elements inresponse to detection by said sensing means of the absence or presenceof gloves at said sensing station, pick-up means adjacent said rotatingmember and spaced from said displacing means a distance equivalent tothe distance said rotating member advances during the time a gloveadvances from the sensing station to the printing station, said pick-upmeans being engageable with said displaceable elements to detect thepositions thereof and transmit said detection to the printing mechanismto control operation thereof.

9. In a multi-station glove forming device wherein gloves are moved fromstation to station for processing, the device having a printing stationat which a printing mechanism is operated to print indicia on thegloves, and having a sensing station in advance of said printing stationand at which sensing means detect the presence or absence of gloves, forsubsequent control of the operation of the printing mechanism inresponse to the detection, means for retaining the detection of thesensing means for a period equivalent to the time for a glove to advancefrom the sensing station to the printing station, said retaining meanscomprising a rotatable disc, means for rotating said disc in relation tothe advancement of gloves from station to station, a plurality ofdisplaceable elements mounted on said disc and arranged to form a circlewith its center coinciding with the axis of rotation of the disc, saiddisplaceable elements being displaceable with respect to said disc in adirection parallel to said axis, means for displacing said elements inresponse to detection by said sensing means of the absence or presenceof gloves at said sensing station, pick-up means positioned adjacent thepath of said elements and spaced from said displacing means a distanceequivalent to the distance said elements move during the time a gloveadvances from the sensing station to the printing station, said pick upmeans being engageable with said displaceable elements to detect thepositions thereof and transmit said detection to the printing mechanismto control operation thereof.

10. In a multi-station glove forming device for forming both left-handtype and right-hand type gloves and wherein gloves are moved fromstation to station for processing, the device having a printing stationat which a printing mechanism is operated to print indicia on thegloves, and having a sensing station in advance of said printing stationat which no-glove sensing means and glove-type sensing means detectrespectively the absence of any glove and the type of glove at thesensing stations, means for retaining the detection of the sensing meansfor a period equivalent to the time for a glove to advance from thesensing station to the printing station, said retaining means comprisinga rotatable disc, means for rotating said disc in relation to theadvancement of gloves from station to station, a plurality ofdisplaceable elements mounted on said disc in a circle concentric withthe axis of rotation of said disc and being displaceable with respect tosaid disc in a direction parallel to said axis, no-glove displacingmeans adjacent the path of said elements and engageable with an elementpositioned thereat to displace the element in response to the no-glovesensing means, glovetype displacing means adjacent the path of saidelements and spaced from said no-glove displacing means a distanceequivalent to the distance between elements for displacing elements inresponse to detection of the type of glove at the sensing station bysaid glove-type sensing means, no-glove pick-up means and glove-typepick-up means positioned adjacent the path of said elements and spacedrespectively from said no-glove displacing means 15 2,831,442

14 and said glove-type displacing means distances equivalent to thedistance said elements move during the time a glove advances from thesensing station to the printing station and being engageable with theelements to detect the positions thereof and transmit said detection tothe printing mechanism to control operation thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,830,638 Butz Nov. 3, 1931 2,751,701 Gr-upe June 26, 1956 2,796,827Vantlander June 25, 1957 2,819,671 Porter et al. Jan. 14, 1958 2,823,820Merchant Feb. 18, 1958 Montguire Apr. 22, 1958

1. IN A GLOVE FORMING DEVICE OF THE TYPE HAVING A GLOVE FORM ON WHICHGLOVES ARE PLACED FOR FORMING, MEANS FOR PRINTING INDICIA ON THE GLOVESWHILE THE GLOVES ARE ON THE FORM, SAID PRINTING MEANS COMPRISING APRINTING BED FORMED IN THE SURFACE OF SAID FORM, A PRINTING MECHANISMADJACENT SAID FORM AND HAVING A RETRACTABLE PRINTING PLATE MOVABLETOWARD SAID FORM AND AGAINST SAID PRINTING BED FOR PRINTING OF THESURFACE OF A GLOVE ON THE FORM, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING SAIDPRINTING MECHANISM TO MOVE SAID PLATE AGAINST SAID BED AND GLOVE SENSINGMEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID PRINTING MEANS.